![]() The key provisioning tool is called google-authenticator. According to the user comments on the module's wiki page, Linux appears to be the only operating system supported out of the box there is a patch reported to work on FreeBSD 8.2 and another for OpenSolaris, but no luck yet for Mac OS X or other PAM-supporting OSes. Tool to provision new keys, and a PAM module - although "server" is not quite accurate the module will work on traditional desktop Linux distributions as well. Serverįor the server side of the system, the project provides a command-line There are two mechanisms for entering the seed value associated with each saved account: devices with a camera can take a photograph of a key in an appropriately-formatted QR code, or the user can manually enter the key as a Base32 string. The mobile clients provided by Google support storing multiple HOTP and TOTP credentials, and can be used to generate passwords for any compliant implementation of the algorithms. Google Authenticator project was launched (it has since become RFC 6238). While TOTP was still at the draft stage when the Although TOTP is regarded as more secure, HOTP is already That value enables humans to type in the passcode at aĬonvenient speed, and also allows for clock drift between server andĬlient. With provisions for the server to define whatever time window it wishes toĪccept as valid. TOTP uses a timestamp as the moving factor instead, HOTP, the older of the two, uses an integer counter that increments forĮvery new passcode. Both algorithms use a pseudo-random seed value or key that is known only to the server and the client the seed is concatenated with a " moving factor" - the piece of the puzzle that makes the password one-time-use only - and the result hashed to create the expected passcode. Google Authenticator supports both the Hashed Message Authentication Code (HMAC)-based OTP (HOTP) and the Time-based OTP (TOTP) specifications, both of which were developed by the Initiative for Open Authentication (OATH). ![]() Using an OTP will help againstĬredential-stealing attacks, such as those used to compromise Interceptions (such as wandering eyes paired with extremely fastįingers) highly unlikely. In line at the coffee shop jotting down the passcode) and makes Specifically, it prevents replay attacks (such as wandering eyes behind you That does not stop an attacker who steals your deviceįrom getting a valid OTP from the application, but it makes it moreĭifficult for an attacker to forge a login through eavesdropping. Generates OTPs that are only valid for a short duration (generally no more But to narrow that security risk, the system The project's official tagline is " Two-step verification ",Ī subtle acknowledgment of its distinction from a strict definition of an Android emulator) would circumvent the "things you have" Unlike the Android app, however, those devicesĪre meant to make it difficult to extract the key without destroying them.Īccessing the key from a phone, then running the app elsewhere To the computer to authenticate a user, though some one-time password (OTP) Traditionally, hardware authentication tokens must be physically connected Is some question whether or not they truly "count" as a second factor. Because these applications are software and generateĪuthentication strings for the user to enter at login time, however, there ![]() On the smartphone side, the Google Authenticator project providesĪpplication software for Android devices, Apple iPhones, and Blackberry The search giant subsequently rolled out support for the scheme for its web applications, but its standards-based functionality and Pluggable Authentication Module (PAM) support have brought it success in a variety of third-party systems as well. Late in 2010, however, Google unveiled an open source project called Google Authenticator that allowed the common smartphone to serve as the "thing you have" factor. Issue, to be sure, but the complexity of public-key infrastructure (PKI) Neither have taken off with the general public. Security dongles and biometric fingerprint scanners, for example. Passphrases both fall under the "things you know" umbrella, and while thereĪre commercially viable options for the latter two categories. You know," "things you have," and "things you are." Passwords and Scheme involves requiring items from two or more of the categories "things The security-conscious will tell you that a multi-factor authentication This article was contributed by Nathan Willis ![]()
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